Reading in June 2009

Ahh, after a couple of grueling quarters of University, I finally have had some time to read for pleasure. To kick things off, I just finished reading Night of Knives by Ian Esslemont. Pretty damn fun book. It all took place in one super action-packed night, and on top of that, filled in some holes in the Malazan tapestry.
I will say that ICE has some skill building to do in the writing area, as I felt some parts were too predictable, or poorly written,but it is a really solid first book, and he seems to be coving some of the interesting Malazan characters that are only heard of or mentioned in Erikson's books.
Dassem Ultor=Badass.
 
Corporal Blues said:
Ahh, after a couple of grueling quarters of University, I finally have had some time to read for pleasure. To kick things off, I just finished reading Night of Knives by Ian Esslemont. Pretty damn fun book. It all took place in one super action-packed night, and on top of that, filled in some holes in the Malazan tapestry.
I will say that ICE has some skill building to do in the writing area, as I felt some parts were too predictable, or poorly written,but it is a really solid first book, and he seems to be coving some of the interesting Malazan characters that are only heard of or mentioned in Erikson's books.
Dassem Ultor=Badass.
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That's really good to know. I just got a coupon from Borders (40% off), so I'm headed there today to buy Night of Knives.
 
I'm re-reading House of Chains By Erickson. Second time through it, and again, like his previous books, I seem to be enjoying it more.

Looking forward to heading in to the rest of the books with a bit more background that I can remember.

I really wish though, they would release this supposed encloypedia book in two parts. Maybe covering the first 5 books. Who needs it at the end!? :)

Keyoke
 
After going through a funk with fantasy (something I seem to do about once a year) I read some other genre stuff. Now back to fantasy and a friend loaned me her copy of Warbreaker by Sanderson. Just started it and can tell already I am going to like it. Whether as much as the Mistborn trilogy, well we'll see, but it is the perfect thing to get out of this funk.
 
I finished Retribution Falls and I just loved it - one of the most fun novels I read in a long time. It's thoroughly modern despite its pulpy presentation and I will do a full review on FBC for the week of June 29 or July 6 depending on how things balance.

I posted a mini-review in the Chris Wooding thread here:

http://sffworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=530083&postcount=38
 
Books I'm currently reading...

Once I had started my Spring Semester, all of my books had to be put on hold. Thankfully I passed all my classes (yay, now I can transfer!!) I've done little else but read read read!

For fun reading I've read Jhereg (to of which I throughly enjoyed :) ) for the Book of the Month and am currently reading Palimpsest (to of which I am not enjoying :( ) for July's BoM.

For intellectual reading, I'm working on two books: (1)Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid which examines the concept of not only calling oneself "I" but the concept behind "I" through many different genres (math, general science, philosophy, cognitive science, religion, the occult, etc) with my older sister, and (2)my cousin handed me this book On Killing The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society which examines the truth behind--not war--but the act of killing itself.

I'm also reading The Farseer Assassin's Quest which is the second book of a trilogy that I started way back at the beginning of Fall Semester (it's not that it's a bad book, it's just that I only read it just before I go to sleep which is slow progress) and Anne of Green Gables aloud to my mom while she cross-stitches.

Yeah, I know that's a lot going on at once, but I enjoy flipping between my fun novels and my serious ones. I have an entire shelf of books that I want to read too containing about twenty-or-so books from different genres. I know that I won't be able to read them all before Fall Semester starts, but I'll enjoy what I can while it lasts.

^_^
Alexandria
 
Finished Eragon

I know this is popular with the kids, so I felt obligated to give it a try. Took me some time to get interested. Much better than the movie (thank Krom), but that isn't saying much.

Probably pretty good for a younger audience.

Personally, I have no desire to read the rest of the series. Too many other things are now on my list. I currently have picked up Dreams from My Father, by President Obama. Then, maybe, Farmers & Mercenaries.
 
The High House by James Stoddard. The High House appears to be the center of the universe. From the outside, it's fairly ordinary (if three-towered castles can be ordinary), but its doors and stairs lead to hundreds of rooms and eventually to an outside world that seems to encompass all of time.

The plot involves the disappearance of the hero's father, who was Master of the House.

I'm really enjoying it. It'd be good for younger readers too -- there's violence but it's not graphic. And so far, no sex.
 
I'm reading two very good but also very different novels: Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey and Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente.
 
I've taken a diversion from the fantasy genre this past week in order to read a bit of sci-fi for a change. With Time Lottery now finished, and having given up on Dragon's Egg (the book I went on to after finishing Time Lottery) rather quickly I'm now back to fantasy once again.

Currently reading: Discworld

I've never read Discworld before, so I'm curious to see what I think to it.
 
I finished Smoking Poppy a day or so ago and enjoyed it muchly. Now I am reading The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
 
Halfway through Neil Gaiman's American Gods while I am waiting for A Clash of Kings from a friend.
 
About fifty pages into The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks, a semi-fantasy thriller set in the modern world. Not digging it too much so far, though it's early days yet. The book has a very hyperparanoid attitude which it's annoyingly ostentatious about, and the whole set-up feels a little preachy. Will certainly be carrying on, though.
________
Dating advice forum
 
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Finished Brian Ruckley's Fall of Thanes.

Some mixed feelings. This is, of course, the third and last of the Godless World trilogy. As such, it has some things to live up to: the first two books were quite good, mixing more or less "classic' fantasy with grittier, more modern-day stuff.

The last volume? Well, perhaps Ruckley overdoes things a bit with regard to the "gritty" side. Certainly the first two-thirds of the book don't really pack too much of a punch. It's all balance, really, and here Ruckley topples into the "let's make it all really horrible" trap. Unrelented gloom has its problems, however, and the most obvious one is that it's boring. After all, nothing happens: everyone is much too busy being gloomy.

In the later stages, though, the tone of the book changes. The whole thing becomes more varied and much more interesting. The ending is good - not exceptionally, staggeringly good, mind, but quite strong and very enjoyable.

All in all, a satisfying enough end to a good series.

After that, I picked up Joseph Delaney's The Spook's Sacrifice.

This is the sixth volume in Delaney's tale of witches, boggarts, and the like. Unlike the preceding volumes, though, it's not set in Delaney's version of Lancashire (a few hunderd years ago). It mainly takes place in Greece. That sort of robs the book of the down-to-earth quality so distinctive in the earlier volumes, which is a draw-back. On the other hand, it sets the scene for what is essentially a pretty grand adventure - which is a good thing. Delaney is not heard of much on this forum, perhaps because he writes YA and perhaps because his style is simple and very unassuming. He deserves praise, though - this series continues to be one of the best in YA fantasy.

What next? Perhaps Nights of Villjamur. Or perhaps The Closets Of Comfiture.
 
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finished Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson, a lot of fireworks at the end after a rather sluggish buildup. Heroic fantasy is the name of the game, and it feels mean to complain about the heroes being overpowered, fighting against incredible odds and having a predisposition for making speeches. It was an interesting journey with a complex magical system, likable characters, decent writing. Worldbuilding and dialogue is where the series has fallen somewhat short for me, together with a lot of repetitions adding to the bulk of the last volume. I can understand now why the final of Wheel of Time is going to be 3 volumes instead of one, but I'm still happy with the choice of Sanderson, who has managed ok in a planetwide conflict.

I'm now reading The Wallet of Kai Lung by Ernest Bramah - o collection of stories within stories reminiscent of Arabian Nights. I picked it for a light read before i tackle my next epic [probably last volume of Brian Ruckley series] , and I enjoy it almost as much as Barry Hughart Bridge of Birds, who was I think inspired by the earlier work of Bramah. The stories have some fantastical elements, but they are mostly traditional morality plays, with a subtle humor relying on flowery, indirect phrasing. The long, intricate paragraphs are the strongpoint of the stories, but they also require more involvement from the reader, making for a slower read, as I find myself going back often to re-read a particular turn of phrase.
 
Gonna finish Thunderer by Felix Gilman tonight. I can't decide what to read next, though! I've narrowed it down to A Magic of Twilight by S.L. Farrell and God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe. First suggestion by a fellow forumer wins.
 
Just finished Midnight Tides by Steven Erickson, was very good once i got over all the jawing for the first 1/3 of the book, ending was...... surprising. Worth a read for sure.
 
TheEvilKing said:
Gonna finish Thunderer by Felix Gilman tonight. I can't decide what to read next, though! I've narrowed it down to A Magic of Twilight by S.L. Farrell and God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe. First suggestion by a fellow forumer wins.
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Go with God's Demon. Both pretty good books that have their own flaws but Demon IMO was more interesting.
 
I finished up Green by Jay Lake last week and got my review up. It's pretty good, but does have a few issues.

Now I'm about half-way through Best Served Cold by Abercrombie. So far it's good, but not the second coming that some of the early reviews would make it seem.
 
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